The present invention relates generally to fabrics for clothing, and more particularly to fabrics for recreational clothing in which an individual participates in vigorous recreational activities.
Apparel for recreational activities ranging from mountain climbing to various contact and non-contact sports require a considerable degree of strength and durability. Normally, it is the pants worn by an individual engaged in athletic activities which undergo the most manipulation as the legs are bent or otherwise moved and the muscles of the legs are flexed during such movement. Thus, in addition to requirements of strength and durability, there is an additional requirement that pants and other apparel possess a significant degree of stretch and recovery or "power" so that the pants or other apparel are easily manipulated by a participant in athletic activities. It is also preferred that the material or fabric of which the apparel is made be comfortable next to the skin of the participant. For instance, the riding pants for a jockey of a horse must provide a tight, smooth fit on the jockey's legs so as to reduce wind resistance and avoid the hindrance of loose material while riding a horse in a race.
Thus, the requisite characteristics of apparel such as riding pants include strength, durability, stretch and recovery, and comfort. In an attempt to fulfill these requirements, fabrics made of nylon, polyester, spandex or combinations of these yarns have been employed in recreational apparel such as riding pants for jockeys. These yarns are all synthetic, the spandex yarn having resilient properties superior to natural latex as well as nylon or polyester. Some of these fabrics provide the strength, durability, and stretch and recovery which might be required in particular articles of apparel, however, they are often uncomfortable next to the skin of a participant, especially in the case of riding pants which are tight fitting since such fabrics tend to be abrasive to the skin. Such fabrics become even more uncomfortable when a participant perspires since they do not possess absorbent characteristics. Further, these fabrics do not provide an acceptable aesthetic appearance unless the particular yarns used are of an extremely high quality.
Moreover, from the standpoint of manufacturing, the yarns of which these fabrics are made must undergo a relativley expensive dyeing process. Nylon, spandex and polyester require a "union dye" process whereby any fabric made from a combination of these yarns could not be dyed as a whole, but instead the yarns of the combination had to be dyed separately. In contrast, materials made from different cotton yarns could be dyed by a relatively simple dyeing process in which the fabric as a whole can be dyed inexpensively.
Inasmuch as cotton fibers are comfortable next to the skin of a participant, possess adsorbent characteristics, and can be dyed by a relatively inexpensive dyeing process, knit fabrics made from a combination of nylon, spandex or polyester and cotton have been proposed. Most such combinations were unsuccessful since the strength, durability, and stretch and recovery characteristics of the resultant fabric were inhibited by the cotton yarn unless a very small percentage of cotton was utilized. Fabrics made from such combinations were also lacking in aesthetic appearance. Moreover, it was also found that the better combinations of these yarns, such as bare cotton combined with spandex, were not only uncomfortable next to the skin but were easily destroyed since the fibers of the synthetic material which provides the requisite resilient properties would cut through the cotton fibers.
It is also noted that some woven fabrics made with nylon, polyester, spandex, cotton or combinations thereof have a great degree of strength and durability. Woven fabrics are produced by interlacing two or more sets of yarns or fibers so that the yarns pass each other essentially at right angles and one set of yarns is parallel to the fabric axis. This process is relatively expensive as compared to a knitting process in which one or more ends of a yarn are interlooped. Further, most such woven fabrics lack the power and comfort required of apparel such as riding pants for jockeys.
Thus, the foregoing demonstrates that a knit fabric particularly suited for recreational apparel, that is, possessing all of the above discussed properties and characteristics, is warranted. While others have failed to provide a fabric with a suitable combination of natural and synthetic yarns which includes the requisite properties and characteristics, the present invention provides a particularly structured combination of yarns so as to yield a fabric possessing all desirable properties and characteristics.